It’s October 31st, which means it’s time to continue an annual Reformation Day tradition: I don’t know how happy I ought to be that this video will probably end up being the most popular thing I’ve ever done. But for today, let’s embrace it, overlook all the terrible things that resulted from the Reformation, and … More Happy Reformation Day
Here… • The Azusa Street Revival, World War I, Vatican II… What were some of the other turning points in the history of Christianity in the 20th century? • Speaking of WWI… Americans shouldn’t wait until 2017 to start thinking about its centenary. • Check out Adam Laats’ blog for interesting insights on Christian higher education … More That Was The Week That Was
In the wake of Friday’s landmark ruling from the Supreme Court, affirming that the right to marriage extends to same-sex couples, there’s already been much speculation about what’s next for evangelicals — who constitute something like a quarter of this country’s population but, according to opinion polls, are markedly less likely than their fellow Americans to support … More Evangelicalism after Obergefell: Reformed and Always Reforming
Of all the ways the 500th anniversary of a German monk posting ninety-five Latin theses on a church door is being celebrated, this is clearly the best. Reports Deutsche Welle: Nearly 500 years after his death, the German monk who symbolizes the Protestant Reformation movement, has his own Playmobil figurine. Playmobil, maker of plastic toy sets … More Martin Luther, Child’s Plaything
Here… • How diverse are Christian colleges and universities? • Does history teach lessons? • Is it helpful to argue from historical analogy, or a sense of historical inevitability? • Where can you find the newest issue of the Baptist Pietist Clarion? • And where am I this morning? …There and Everywhere • As we closed the … More That Was The Week That Was
Ten minutes after I pressed “Publish” on Monday’s post about my struggle to find a way to blog well about the World Vision controversy, I found myself lecturing on the Catholic Reformation and Wars of Religion in Bethel’s Christianity and Western Culture class. While the fracturing of the Church into tens of thousands of denominations didn’t start or … More “That They May Be One”: Evangelical Unity after World Vision
This weekend marks the 2014 winter meeting of the American Society of Church History. Annual ASCH meetings are always held in conjunction with the American Historical Association and also include a spotlight session organized by the Pietism Studies Group. Kudos to PSG president (and occasional Pietist Schoolman guest blogger) Christian Collins Winn for connecting with … More Pietism Studies Group in Washington D.C.
Track this and tell me that God doesn’t work in mysterious ways: 1. When I was hired to come to a Baptist/Pietist/evangelical college as the new European historian, I was expected to teach an upper-level course on the Reformations. The last time I had studied this chapter in history was… oh, the first week of … More Why I’m Almost a Lutheran
Since I’ve already seen it shared this week on Facebook and Twitter by friends and former students, I might as well join the fun and mark this 496th anniversary of Martin Luther posting his “95 Theses” by posting “The Reformation Polka” — a music video that my friend Sam Mulberry and I made several years … More Reformation Day (and Response)
You generally see the birthdate for the great Christian humanist Desiderius Erasmus given as October 27, 1466, but both the day and year are a bit uncertain. So since I don’t blog on Sundays, I’ll take advantage of the confusion and celebrate the second date suggested, October 28th. To be honest, I’d need a lot … More Erasmus: The Christian Scholar’s Scholar
The Pietist Schoolman 